GOP continues attack on women

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

It appears that the Republican Party’s extreme agenda is continuing in 2013.

Recently, Speaker John Boehner prevented a vote on legislation which would have provided disaster aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy. Following a public outcry, Boehner relented and held a vote on partial aid. Sixty–seven Republicans in the U.S. House, including former vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan, voted against this disaster relief bill. The Republicans are doubling down on their war on women. The Violence Against Women Act, enacted in 1994 and reauthorized in 2000 and 2005 to protect women from domestic violence, as well as other forms of abuse, met its demise because House leadership decided to kill the bill by letting the clock run until the 113th Congress was sworn in. Since the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act added protections for undocumented immigrant, LGBT and Native American populations, many House Republicans decided that they could not support this bill.

Gov. Rick Snyder claims that HB 5711, which signed into law, “preserves women’s rights while also enacting measures to help ensure their health and safety.”

This radical law hurts women, especially those who come from both rural areas and low-income households. HB 5711 imposes unnecessarily burdensome regulations and restrictions on women’s health care centers which could result in facility closures, depriving women and couples of life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, STD prevention and treatment and safe abortions.

It’s clear that a vast majority of Republican politicians would rather garner the support of the extreme right wing of their party than lend a helping hand to everyday Americans.